Corporate Roundup: T. Rowe Price Launches Personalized TDF, IRALOGIX Names CFO

In this week’s corporate roundup, T. Rowe Price launches its Personalized Retirement Manager solution, IRALOGIX taps in a new CFO, Northern Trust names leadership roles, Equitable releases an annuity offering aimed at educators, and more.

T. Rowe Price Launches Personalized TDF

T. Rowe Price has launched Personalized Retirement Manager (PRM), an expansion of its target date offerings that uses personal data to create an asset allocation tailored to an individual’s specific savings goals, preferences, and financial situation to help drive better retirement outcomes. The fully personalized glide path continues to adjust throughout a participant’s retirement savings journey.

PRM can be selected as the qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) for participants and uses personal information available through 401(k) recordkeeping data, such as account balance, contribution rate, and income. Participants can then choose to add additional information—retirement goals, a spouse or partner’s assets, household assets outside the plan, and other relevant factors—to further refine their asset allocation. Participants can engage as little or as much as they like; and the more they engage, the more personalized their experience will be.

The service is proprietary to the firm and was designed by the same professionals behind T. Rowe Price’s target date solutions, using identical underlying strategies. PRM is already being used as a QDIA by several T. Rowe Price recordkeeping clients for participants nearing retirement. The firm also intends to evolve the platform to incorporate retirement income advice in the future.

“With advances in technology, leveraging personal data to build customized asset allocation is the future of target date solutions,” said Wyatt Lee, head of Target Date Strategies at T. Rowe Price, whose team manages $464 billion in target date portfolios as of July 31, 2024. “Personalized Retirement Manager is a significant addition to our target date offering because it is the first proprietary service of its kind. From the underlying analytical engine to the portfolio construction and investment building blocks, we built PRM based on the same research and asset allocation methodology as our Morningstar Gold Rated target date strategies. As a leader in the retirement industry, we consistently strive to be at the forefront of retirement innovation to offer choice and flexibility to help fuel better retirement outcomes. Saving for retirement no longer has to be a choice between target date solutions or personalization—it can be both.”

IRALOGIX Names CFO

IRALOGIX has appointed Keith Haas as chief financial officer. Haas assumed his new position on September 3 and reports to Peter de Silva, chief executive officer.

“We are excited to welcome Keith to the IRALOGIX team and are eager to leverage his passion, expertise, and financial acumen to drive our continued growth,” said de Silva. “With his extensive background in the tech industry and a proven track record of financial leadership, Keith is the perfect fit to help us achieve our strategic objectives. We are confident that his insights and contributions will play a pivotal role in accelerating our growth and strengthening IRALOGIX’s position as a leader in the marketplace.”

“I’m excited to join IRALOGIX as CFO, especially at such a transformative time for our technology solutions to benefit the massive individual retirement account space. I look forward to shaping our business and financial strategy to fuel growth and deliver outstanding value to both customers and stakeholders,” Haas said.

Most recently, Haas served as CFO for financial solutions platform FutureView Systems. Previously, he held CFO positions at LeaseAccelerator, an enterprise SaaS company; Bridgestreet, a travel-tech platform; and Snagajob, a hiring and talent management solution for employers.

He has led multiple acquisitions and raised equity and debt totaling over $500 million across more than 15 transactions.

“As IRALOGIX grows, Keith’s experience leading financial transformations will be critical,” said Pete Littlejohn, CRO and one of IRALOGIX’s founders. “Keith’s proven track record in driving operational efficiency and creating sustainable growth will ensure that we continue to deliver exceptional value to our clients while scaling our business to new heights.”

Haas is a certified public accountant and has an master’s degree in finance. He resides in Virginia.

Northern Trust Taps Industry Experts in Leadership Changes

Northern Trust Corporation announced a number of leadership changes, effective Oct. 1, 2024.

“These changes represent our One Northern Trust strategy designed to optimize growth, strengthen resiliency and drive productivity,” said chairman and chief executive officer Michael O’Grady. “They reflect the strength of our leaders and depth of our talent practices, and our commitment to continuing to serve our clients with distinction in an ever-changing landscape.”

• Peter B. Cherecwich, president of Asset Servicing, will become chief operating officer. In this newly created role, Cherecwich will focus on ensuring operational excellence and resiliency, effective risk management and controls, and scalable growth.
• Teresa Parker will defer her previously announced retirement and serve as president of Asset Servicing. Parker most recently served as president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She has been based in London, Singapore and Chicago and has held executive leadership roles including chief operating officer for Asset Servicing; head of the Asia Pacific Region (APAC); and global head of Securities Lending.
• Steven L. Fradkin will be named vice chairman of Northern Trust. In this capacity, Fradkin will seek to enhance growth initiatives and foster connections across Northern Trust’s client franchise.
• Chief Financial Officer Jason Tyler will assume the role of president of Wealth Management. Tyler previously served as head of Corporate Strategy, Asset Management’s head of the Institutional Group, and Wealth Management’s chief financial officer.
• David W. Fox Jr., president of the Global Family & Private Investment Offices Group, will serve as chief financial officer. Fox has served in a number of leadership capacities, previously serving as head of the Americas for Asset Servicing and vice chairman of Investment Banking at J.P. Morgan. A successor to Fox to serve as president of the Global Family & Private Investment Offices Group will be named soon.

Equitable Launches Annuity Option for Educators

Equitable, a leading financial services organization and principal franchise of Equitable Holdings, Inc. has announced a new series to its EQUI-VEST line of deferred variable annuity products, EQUI-VEST Series 202. This version is designed to help educators supplement their retirement savings by providing additional choices, flexibility and a level of certainty.

EQUI-VEST Series 202 is available to employees enrolled in a 403(b) plan at public schools across the United States. One notable feature, the Structured Investment Option, allows participants to capitalize on potential market gains, up to a cap, while maintaining a level of protection against market losses. Specifically, it provides buffered indexed options that include downside protection up to -30%, longer segment periods and the opportunity to lock in gains. It also provides growth potential that mirrors the index selected up to a cap.  

“Nearly six in ten Americans view the current economic conditions in the U.S. as highly volatile, according to a recent Equitable survey. This has workers increasingly looking for solutions to help grow and protect their retirement savings,” said Jim Kais, head of Group Retirement for Equitable. “Our new EQUI-VEST series builds on our expertise as the leading provider of registered index-linked annuities, adding an investment option that helps address these concerns. We hope this makes planning for the future a bit more reassuring for educators, so they can stay focused on teaching their students.”

EQUI-VEST Series 202 also addresses longevity risk and decumulation concerns. At retirement, plan participants have the option of turning their 403(b) account values into guaranteed income for the rest of their lives.

“While pensions are the primary retirement savings vehicle for many public-school teachers, we often find this source of income is not enough on its own to fully replace their income in retirement,” explained Kais. “Our new EQUI-VEST series provides educators with additional options and flexibility to help meet their individual needs, as many depend on their 403(b) plans to supplement their savings for retirement.” 

Savvy Advisors Expands Advisory Team

Savvy Advisors Inc. a registered investment advisor (RIA) affiliated with Savvy Wealth, Inc.  has hired Drew Martino and Daniel Moore to their advisory practice.

Martino comes to Savvy from Corebridge Financial, where he specialized in retirement planning with a focus on 403(b) plan guidance for individuals employed by schools, hospitals, municipalities, government entities and other tax-exempt organizations. He has held positions at Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and other independent wealth managers.

“As a financial advisor to educators and public service professionals who have devoted their lives to caring for and serving others, I want them to have confidence in me as a fiduciary who is looking out for their best interests,” said Martino. “Savvy’s tech-forward approach empowers me to increase efficiency, unlocking more time to educate my clients on the tax advantages of 403(b)s and ways to utilize the unique retirement planning options available to them.”

Moore joins Savvy from TIAA, where he managed approximately $800 million in client assets. Based in the Chicago area, Moore has retirement planning experience from similar roles at Fidelity Investments, PNC and AXA Advisors. He specializes in serving higher education professionals and physicians, helping them optimize their after-tax returns and create personalized estate planning documents, in addition to traditional financial planning and investment management. Moore obtained his certified financial planner (CFP) certification in 2023, and recently earned his master’s degree from the Quantic School of Business and Technology.

“What drew me to Savvy was the firm’s ability to streamline my day-to-day, offering a level of flexibility that’s hard to find,” said Moore. “With its modern technology and a clear, structured approach, I’m confident that Savvy’s proprietary solutions will unify every aspect of my clients’ financial lives, helping me stay ahead of their rapidly evolving needs.”

Transamerica Hires RVP for Colorado and Montana

Adding to its presence in the Mountain region, Transamerica has named Michael Male as regional vice president for Colorado and Montana. In his role, Male leads retirement plan sales efforts in both states, partnering closely with financial advisors and third-party administrators (TPAs) in 401(k) and 403(b) defined contribution retirement plan sales. 

Male has over a decade of experience, most recently as regional sales manager at Empower. Based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, he reports to divisional vice president Tom Briggs.

A graduate of the University of Colorado, Male holds a Colorado producer license and Series 6 and Series 63 licenses.

WTW Launches Flexible Contribution Program

WTW is launching a new solution that provides employees with expanded choice and flexibility in allocating employer contributions among financial benefits.

Under the approved flexible contribution program, the requesting sponsor’s defined contribution (DC) plan participants can direct employer DC contributions across the DC plan, non-taxable student loan repayments, retiree health reimbursement arrangements (HRA), and health savings accounts (HSA).

“Many employers have been interested in providing employees with robust choice and flexibility for a long time, but the legal, compliance, tax and administrative challenges associated with an “employee choice” program have been hard to overcome, until now,” said Chris West, DC strategy leader at WTW. “This innovative program allows plan sponsors to more effectively respond to the diverse financial worries of employees by letting individuals direct employer dollars where they need them the most.”  

This solution comes at a time when many employees are craving more benefits choice and flexibility. WTW’s 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey found more than three in four employees who have choice in their benefits indicate the benefits program meets their needs compared with just 37% of employees who don’t have a choice in benefits.

Moreover, WTW believes this solution can help support employee financial wellbeing. According to the Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, nearly nine in 10 workers are struggling to meet basic living costs while four in 10 are not on the right track with respect to their finances. The program helps individuals and families address financial priorities by allowing employees to allocate dollars where they need them the most.

“We are excited about the value this new approach can provide to employers, employees and their families. For employers, moving away from “one size” benefits can open a competitive advantage in their ongoing battle to attract and retain talented workers. For employees, it gives options on how best to use employer dollars based on their needs and life stage, including paying down student loans.  Best of all, the program can be incorporated in a plan sponsor’s existing benefits programs. It’s a win-win-win proposition,” said West.

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